Toshiba Announces One-Minute-Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2005_03/pr2901.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/pres...5_03/pr2901.htm</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Toshiba Corporation today announced a breakthrough in lithium-ion batteries that makes long recharge times a thing of the past. The company's new battery can recharge 80% of a battery's energy capacity in only one minute, approximately 60 times faster than the typical lithium-ion batteries in wide use today, and combines this fast recharge time with performance-boosting improvements in energy density."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/img2905.jpg" /><br /><br />Wow! 8O While the Toshiba press release goes on to say that this technology will be focused initially within the automotive and industrial sectors, it also clearly states that mobile devices will be targeted as well. This could be the most significant breakthrough I've ever seen with regards to rechargeable batteries! I just hope that when this eventually does trickle down to PDAs and Smartphones, that Toshiba will share the love with all manufacturers. So what do you guys think?

[Snail]

24 hours too early? I hope it's true though!

[ucfgrad93]

While this looks pretty amazing, I can't help but think about what my dad always told me..."If it looks too good to be true, it isn't real."

This has me wondering.

[Locksmith]

Hmm...600mah in 1 minute. That charger is gonna have to put out better than 36 amps. I can't wait to see how they handle that problem, but then of course thats probably why they are aiming at the industrial/automotive sector.

[Kowalski]

i dont see any possibility that this technology will be used in handhelds.
i want to add a simple math to what locksmith wrote:
under 4 V voltage, 36A of current(!!!) means 144W/h of power !
man, what kind of a pda will carry connectors which will handle this much power and heat emited by this current!

[Brad Adrian]

I'm glad there are people out there like locksmith and kowalski who understand all of these issues. My first thought was a loud "wow!" But your doses of information help me separate the hype from the reality.

Is it possible that Toshiba has somehow suspended the laws of nature and this super-rapid charging can take place without melting anything within three feet of the charger?

[ricksfiona]

24 hours too early? I hope it's true though!

Yup, I thought the same things.

[surur]

I'm glad there are people out there like locksmith and kowalski who understand all of these issues. My first thought was a loud "wow!" But your doses of information help me separate the hype from the reality.

Just because it can be done in one minute does not mean it has to. 10 minutes are good enough (meaning 10 times less current), and even just the extremely low degradation rate (1000's of cycles) would be good enough, even without rapid charging.

Surur

[stevelam]

It does say 80% though. Could they somehow make the last 20% actually hold most of the charge :idea:?

[aroma]

It does say 80% though. Could they somehow make the last 20% actually hold most of the charge :idea:?


Ummm... then the 80% wouldn't be 80%, would it? :D

[gibson042]

I'm glad there are people out there like locksmith and kowalski who understand all of these issues. My first thought was a loud "wow!" But your doses of information help me separate the hype from the reality.

Is it possible that Toshiba has somehow suspended the laws of nature and this super-rapid charging can take place without melting anything within three feet of the charger?
There's no need to. They intend this initially for automotive applications, where the voltage will be higher and relatively high currents already abound. And when the time comes to scale it down, the charging will be less rapid (but still faster than today) to cut down on both power and current.

[mrmagoo]

i dont see any possibility that this technology will be used in handhelds.
i want to add a simple math to what locksmith wrote:
under 4 V voltage, 36A of current(!!!) means 144W/h of power !
man, what kind of a pda will carry connectors which will handle this much power and heat emited by this current!

Though the battery sinks about 144 watts of power, it only does so for a minute. But, the more important question is the internal resistance of the battery. Toshiba's claim to fame seems to be some new nanotechnology based structure that they created. Maybe it enables a very low internal resistance? But, even if the resistance is low like 50 milliohms the heat energy produced will be equivalent to ~65 Watts (36^2 amps * 0.05 ohms). This is like putting your hand around a 60 watt lightbulb and turning on the power for one minute. Ouch! As a reference, those commerically available super capacitors (aerogel based super caps) have a equivalent series resistance of about 200 milliohms.

[Muntasser]

"A breakthrough technology applied to the negative electrode uses new nano-particles to prevent organic liquid electrolytes from reducing during battery recharging. The nano-particles quickly absorb and store vast amount of lithium ions, without causing any deterioration in the electrode."

Perhaps it doesn't recharge faster because of a proportionally larger dose of current (i.e. 2X current, 1/2 recharge time), but due to the altered chemistry of the battery. I'm no expert on nanoparticles but I have a feeling that the technology is leaning more that way.

In the meantime, the 15minute batteries by UniRoss look amazing.

http://www.energyfederation.org/consumer/default.php/cPath/401_444_1029

And a short video
http://www.uniross.com/site_charger/videos/sprint15lcd.avi

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Perhaps it doesn't recharge faster because of a proportionally larger dose of current (i.e. 2X current, 1/2 recharge time), but due to the altered chemistry of the battery. I'm no expert on nanoparticles but I have a feeling that the technology is leaning more that way.
I'm no expert either, but that was the initial impression I had when I first learned of the news. We'll see. Their roadmap explicitly does state mobile devices so I have reason to be hopeful.

[midili]

It's funny. I read the 'iPoc' headline with interest, but it was this story that reminded me what today's date is. Seems this story is legit though...

[Locksmith]

The laws of physics say energy can neither be created nor destroyed. You can't get power out of a cell unless you put power in.

You can make it more efficient, as in less waste energy typically dissipated as heat during recharge, but it all boils down to whatever comes out, at one point had to be put in.

When you look at the demonstration cell photo, those are some sizeable terminals on that sucker. It also appeared to be enclosed in a metal can kinda like the old crystal cases.

The dedicated charger for a 3vdc cell at 1.2ah is gonna be huge by todays standards. The power cables will approach the size of 1/2 the size of car jumper cables.

There's gotta be a whole lot of support engineering going into this thing before you see it in any kind of product that the typical consumer is going to get their hands on.